Boing Boing: Microsoft WGA servers down; XP and Vista installs marked as counterfeit

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Saturday, August 25, 2007

Microsoft WGA servers down; XP and Vista installs marked as counterfeit - UPDATED

UPDATE, 2:10pm PST: Looks like MSFT has fixed the immediate problem with WGA, for now: Link. But the product is still, as they say, defective by design. (Thanks, Marius)

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BB reader David McBride says,

DRM bites again: the Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage servers (which every XP and Vista install phones home to) all failed sometime earlier today.
The result? Every single Windows XP and Vista installation -- except possibly those with volume license keys -- is being marked as counterfeit when it tries to check in. Installations which are flagged as counterfeit switch to a "reduced functionality mode" which results in features like Aero and DirectX being disabled.
So far, the only public response from Microsoft has been indirectly via their technical support forums, where a user has posted the following snippet from an email he received from MS's technical support address:
Thank you for your response.
I’m sorry to inform you that the Windows Genuine server might be down for few days. I have escalate the issue to our Genuine team, kindly try to validate again on Tuesday 28 Aug 2007.
Thank you for contacting Microsoft Technical Support.

Link.

Update, 12:03pm PT: David McBride says,

Phil Liu, the WGA Program Manager has responded on the Microsoft forums to say, effectively, "we know, we're taking it seriously and we're working on it."
I understand the frustration you all are going through. I'm investigating the issue right now.
I guarantee that we're working on this issue right now. For folks wondering, MACHINES ARE NOT SHUTTING DOWN with reduced functionality.
I guarantee that I will personally resolve this issue before I go to sleep - whether or not it is Tuesday I sleep. My goal is to identify a FIX for this issue - afterwards get you all what you are looking for, an explanation and cause.
The message from the Supportability team will be addressed appropriately as well. I encourage folks to keep an eye out on these forums.
I promise I will have an explanation and resolution as soon as humanly possible.
-Phil Liu @ Microsoft
Program Manager, WGA
Link. This is also not the first time that this has happened.

Reader comment: Thomas Hruska says,

Here's a possible explanation for what happened, spanned across two blog entries over the past 24 hours: one, two.

posted by Xeni Jardin at 09:03:50 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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Support Bloggers' Rights! HOWTO: Get a link posted to Boing Boing Boing Boing Mobile powered by Winksite Fark rules! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States [and other countries]. Stats (About our stats) defeat censorware Policies Our first five years' worth of posts in one file	View a recent day: August 27 \| August 26 \| August 25 \| previous days \| by month and year Saturday, August 25, 2007 Microsoft WGA servers down; XP and Vista installs marked as counterfeit - UPDATED UPDATE, 2:10pm PST: Looks like MSFT has fixed the immediate problem with WGA, for now: Link. But the product is still, as they say, defective by design. (Thanks, Marius) - - - - - - - - - - BB reader David McBride says, DRM bites again: the Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage servers (which every XP and Vista install phones home to) all failed sometime earlier today. The result? Every single Windows XP and Vista installation -- except possibly those with volume license keys -- is being marked as counterfeit when it tries to check in. Installations which are flagged as counterfeit switch to a "reduced functionality mode" which results in features like Aero and DirectX being disabled. So far, the only public response from Microsoft has been indirectly via their technical support forums, where a user has posted the following snippet from an email he received from MS's technical support address: Thank you for your response. I’m sorry to inform you that the Windows Genuine server might be down for few days. I have escalate the issue to our Genuine team, kindly try to validate again on Tuesday 28 Aug 2007. Thank you for contacting Microsoft Technical Support. Link. Update, 12:03pm PT: David McBride says, Phil Liu, the WGA Program Manager has responded on the Microsoft forums to say, effectively, "we know, we're taking it seriously and we're working on it." I understand the frustration you all are going through. I'm investigating the issue right now. I guarantee that we're working on this issue right now. For folks wondering, MACHINES ARE NOT SHUTTING DOWN with reduced functionality. I guarantee that I will personally resolve this issue before I go to sleep - whether or not it is Tuesday I sleep. My goal is to identify a FIX for this issue - afterwards get you all what you are looking for, an explanation and cause. The message from the Supportability team will be addressed appropriately as well. I encourage folks to keep an eye out on these forums. I promise I will have an explanation and resolution as soon as humanly possible. -Phil Liu @ Microsoft Program Manager, WGA Link. This is also not the first time that this has happened. Reader comment: Thomas Hruska says, Here's a possible explanation for what happened, spanned across two blog entries over the past 24 hours: one, two. posted by Xeni Jardin at 09:03:50 AM permalink \| Other blogs' comments View a recent day: August 27, 2007 \| August 26, 2007 \| August 25, 2007 \| August 24, 2007 \| August 23, 2007 \| August 22, 2007 \| August 21, 2007 \| previous days \| all BB archives by month and year Email this entry to: Your email address: Message (optional):	Boing Boing Sponsored by: Your Text Ad Here Get BB by email: